Six films have been selected for the first edition of Ceau, Cinema! Competition. The six films, out of which four are presented for the first time in Romania, can be seen during four days in Timisoara, starting from July 22. 31 fiction and non-fiction films from 11 countries (Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia) were submitted in this competition, out of which five have been disqualified for not meeting the initial criteria.
The selection was made by Ionut Mares, journalist and film critic whose texts about cinema can be found on the cultural website Metropolis.
„I tried, as much as I could, to find an equilibrium in diversity, and to make a value-based selection. A balance between well-established names and discoveries. We also wanted to give a voice to young women directors. And because the line between fiction and non-fiction is constantly questioned, two of the six films in the competition are documentaries. Quality cinema is not about genre”, said Ionut Mares, selectioner of Ceau Cinema! Competition.
Presented at festivals such as DOK Leipzig and One World Romania, „Himmelverbot” / „Outside” directed by the Romanian-German Andrei Schwartz , brings forward a spectacular character recently released from a Romanian prison and launches, indirectly, a delicate question: how easily do we let ourselves manipulated by stories and by cinema?
Filmed in Cuba and focusing on the special relationship between a mother and her mature son with Down’s Syndrome, the touching – but discreet – „Casa Blanca” documentary is the debut of the brand new Polish director Maciuszek Aleksandra, presented in the international competition of Visions du Reel Festival in Switzerland.
A second woman director from this competition is Virág Zomborácz, a young Hungarian filmmaker whose debut, „Utóélet” / „Afterlife„, also presented at the Palm Springs Festival, is a subtle and clever black comedy about a young man attempting to escape the presence of his domineering father’s ghost.
Wojciech Smarzowski is one of the most daring Polish directors, and his newest feature film, the extraordinary „Pod mocnym Aniol” / „The Mighty Angel„, with four nominations at the Polish Film Awards, proposes a less triumphalist vision of his country, through the perspective of a writer addicted to alcohol.
Winner of three awards at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival , „Szabadesés” / „Free Fall”, the new challenge launched by Hungarian filmmaker György Pálfi, is an unexpected collection of „different” stories block, each framed in a film genre easily recognizable and enjoyable.
Presented last year in the Semaine de la Critique at Cannes and reviewed positively in Cahiers du Cinema and Positif, „Haganenet” / „The Kindergarten Teacher”, the second feature film of the Israeli writer and filmmaker Nadav Lapid, is an intense cinematic experience, which intrigues and creates a pleasant discomfort by portraying the relationship between a kindergarten teacher and a child endowed for poetry.
Actress Andreea Vasile (“De ce eu?”/ „Why me?„) and film critics Lucian Maier and Cinesseur compose the Ceau, Cinema! Jury, which will give two awards, with the support of Kathrein Romania: the Grand Award, worth 1,000 euro and the Audience Award, worth 500 euro. The Ceau, Cinema! Trophy – which will be presented to the winners – is created by the experimental artist Lia Radoi, based on a drawing by Mircea Popescu.
Ceau, Cinema! is organized by the associations Marele Ecran and Pelicula Culturala and is the first film festival from Timisoara dedicated to the European film. The event is organized by volunteers, with the support of local companies and institutions: Vitas Romania, Kathrein Romania, Timisoara City Hall, Timis County Department of Culture, Gottlob City Hall, French Institute of Timisoara, The German Cultural Center, Grolsch, [e-spres-oh], Smithfield Romania, Adler Romania, Storm Media, Electronic Resistance. The visual identity of the festival has been created by: Balamuc (Playground and others), Super Smooth Studio and Lia Radoi. Media partners: Metropolis Newspaper, Radio Timisoara, TVR Timisoara, TION, Agenda, KissFm.